Mother of fallen Yonkers soldier denied national honor

A mother of a fallen soldier from Yonkers is being denied membership in a national organization.

Army Staff Sergeant Anthony Lagman was killed by enemy gunfire last year in Afghanistan. But when his mother, Ligaya Lagman, applied for membership in the American Gold Star Mothers, she was refused. The group is a federally chartered organization of women who lost children serving in the military. The president of the organization say Lagman cannot join because she is not a U.S. citizen.

The president of American Gold Star Mothers say she is looking into possibly changing the bylaws to allow non-citizens to join. Local veterans? groups are outraged by the omission and plan to protest during Memorial Day ceremonies across the county.